Thank you for your concern and for praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian People
1. On January 6, Calvary Baptist Church of South Bend, Indiana, sent us a truckload of aid for our next shipment to Ukraine. This cargo included boxed blankets, coats, sleeping bags, and medical supplies. In addition, they brought dozens of walkers and canes, plus 8 wheelchairs. This is possibly the largest number of wheelchairs we have received from a single source. With so many wounded soldiers losing mobility, wheelchairs are certainly one of the most—if not the very most requested—item during this time of war. They even brought a manual hoist with slings that can lift patients of various sizes from a wheelchair onto a bed. These will be greatly welcomed in Ukraine.
2. On December 22, we requested prayer for a group of volunteers traveling to Druzhivka (within 20 miles of the war front) to do Christmas street evangelism for children. This event was spearheaded by a couple named Vitaly and Natalia, who have been active distributors of relief for BIEM right from the start of the war in Ukraine. Although mostly video footage to show you some clips from that outreach, it closes with a summary by Natalia. Thank you for praying! Thanks to this event, modest children’s gifts and the Gospel went to homes with which we previously had no contact. You can view the 4-minute video here:
https://vimeo.com/user37287229/kiddies
3. Churches in Ukraine have now submitted warm clothing applications for more than 700 soldiers. Since more applications are coming in, there is no doubt we will be able to identify the 1,000 soldiers we hoped to help with warm clothing. More than half of the 700 soldiers have already been supplied. Since we have so far received $44,000, please pray with us for the remaining $56,000 needed. We are in the process of sending out a mailing we hope will bring in these needed funds. This mailing states, "For gifts of $100 or more, we will send a Sound the Trumpet CD. For such gifts, you can indicate the CD of your choice for yourself or for a friend."
4. On Saturday, we are helping to finance a group of 9 volunteers who are taking a trip to the warfront in Donetsk. Five of these brave people are Christians from the Carpathian area; the others come from Kyiv. They are asking us to pray for their safety since they will be passing through areas where entrenched Russian soldiers are using drones to spot and attack targets. Please pray that they will not be targeted.
5. Although it’s not a church planted by BIEM, we are including a large Baptist church in Bila Tserkva, Ukraine, to those receiving relief funds to aid 1,000 soldiers. These believers have helped hundreds of refugees with food while evangelizing, but their means are limited. We are pleased that, in this time of special needs, BIEM can partner with other churches of like precious faith to touch lives, win souls, and glorify our Lord.
In Christ,
Sam Slobodian
President, BIEM